Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to animal traps and more
particularly to that class of trap utilized in killing or
trapping animals which is mechanically tripped when the animal
attempts to obtain bait food placed in the trap.
The prior art abounds with animal traps. United States
patent 2,492,957 issued January 3, 1950 to J.N. Blair and
United States patent 1,394,649 issued October 25, 1921 to G.H.
Thompson both describe animal traps in which a bait receiving
portion operates a lever removably secured thereto. When the
lever is operated, it is rotated so as to flail upwardly in the
region of the bait and release a spring loaded striker wire,
striking the animal which engaged the bait receiving area with
sufficient force. Both teachings suffer the common deficiency
of having the flailing linkage wire operate in the vicinity of
the animal, often times throwing the animal outwardly from the
region in which the striker wire will operate. Furthermore,
both devices provide for a fixed location for the bait, relative
to the linkage wire, thereby requiring an element arm of given
magnitude required to trip the mechanism. No adjustment is
provided to facilitate tripping for heavier or lighter forces
applied to the traps.
Rodents, amongst other small animals, often become
trap shy after having experienced an attempt to reach the bait
o a trap only to hear such trap become triggered and to
successfully escape from the trap, with or without nonfatal
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injury. Accordingly, such ~Itrained~ animals become exceedingly
difficult to trap on a second encounter with a spring loaded
trap. Therefore the present invention is designed to trap an
animal efficiently and effectively on its very first encounter
with the trap. One of the primary reasons that animals can
safely escape with the bait load of a trap is their ability to
reach over the trip mechanism and to withdraw the bait without
touching a release mechanism, usually associated with the area
upon which the bait is placed. Another method for an animal
to escape is to have a portion of the trap itself strike the
animal in such a way as to cause the animal to be pushed away
from portions of the trap intended to capture the animal.
Finally, even though animals do step upon trigger mechanisms
carrying bait, small animals, of light weight, oftentimes
successfully remove the bait since they do not apply sufficient
downward force on the trigger mechanism to operate the trap.
The present invention recognizes these difficulties and
provides a ready solution thereto as w211 as providing an
inexpensively manufactured apparatus which is safe to use,
load and clean after use.
Thus, according to the present invention, there is
provided an animal trap comprising:
a base;
a platform pivotally mounted in said base;
a trigger member movably mounted on said base and
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coupled to said platform;
a generally U-shaped striker wire pivotally secured
to said base and pivotally movable between a set position and
an opposed striking position;
spring means biasing said striker wire towards its
striking position;
the trigger member being movable, in response to move-
ments of said platform, ~etween a first, set position in which
it engages the striker wire to hold said striker wire in the
set position, and a second, releasing position in which it
releases the striker wire;
a bait receptacle mounted above said platform and
presenting one open side in a direction away from the trigger
member and towards the striking position of the striker wire,
so as to allow access to bait in said bait receptacle from one
lateral direction only;
a cover for said bait receptacle, said cover having
an open side coinciding with the open side of said bait
receptacle, and being movable between a covering position
closing top access to the bait receptacle, and an open position
permitting top access thereto for bait loading purpose.
The provision of the bait receptacle and hood therefor
ensure that the animal can only obtain the bait by approaching
from the correct, predetermined direction, thereby ensuring that
the animal steps on the platform and triggers the trap
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in doing so. Moreover, this arrangement ensures that the
animal will be correctly positioned, when triggering the trap,
to receive a fatal blow from the striker, as opposed to a non-
fatal blow or merely being thrown away from the trap.
Preferably, the trigger member is a wire pivotally
secured to the base ad~acent one end of said base, the trigger
wire being located inside the arc of travel of the striker
wire, the trigger wire being generally S-shaped as viewed in
side elevation, the curved-horizontal intermediate pGrtion
thereof being adapted to engage the base of the U-shaped
striker wire when in the set position. The sensitivity of the
trap to triggering by animals of different weight can thus be
arranged on setting the trap, by ad~usting the position of
the base of th0 U-shaped striker, in the set position, along
the curved-horizontal intermediate portion of the S-shaped
trigger.
The structure and mèthod of fabrication of the present
invention is applicable to a base, preferably fabricated from
a plastic material, such as polypropylene, having a generally
rectangular shape, optionally supported by downwardly pro-
truding legs. In the preferred embodiment, the platform also
has a generally rectangular shape, but of somewhat smaller
dimensions than the base, and elongated. A pair of down-
wardly turned lips on the platform are provided, each having
a hole therethrough to allow pivoted connection to a pair of
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upstanding plates on the base. The U-shaped striker wire,
having the ends thereof secured to a pivot rod, is pivotably
secured to the base plate by having the ends of the pivot rod
pass through another pair of opposed aligned holes in forma-
tions on the base plate. Wrapped about the pivot rod and
affixed to the striker wire are one or more springs, one end
of each of which rests upon the uppersmost lateral surface of
the plate, and the other end of each of which is in touching
engagement with the legs of the U-shaped striker wire so as
to cause the striker wire to be urged towards one end of the
base. Affixed to one end of the platform is a link member,
which connects to the trigger member. The trigger member,
being fabricated in the form of a wire, may be pivotally
mounted between ~rackets on the base.
When it is desired to load the trap, the striker wire
is moved to its set position and the trigger member is pulled
rearwardly to engage the intermediate surface portion thereof
with the striker wire. The platform is thus raised to engage
the underside of the bait receptacle. The hood can now be
moved to the open position and the bait put into the receptacle
and the hood closed, without touching the platform to risk
triggering the trap. Any downward force applied to a side of
the platform located opposite of the side thereof carrying the
link member, of sufficient force, causes the trigger wire to
release the striker wire, releasing same for rotational trans-
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lation about the pivot rod passing through the plates of thebase. Thus, it can be seen that there are no mechanisms
carried above the uppermost lateral surface of the trap, which
may strike the animal as the striker wire is placed into
motion, tending to push such animal outwardly from the arcuate
path of the striker wire, before the striker wire engages the
- animal in a trapped position. Furthermore, it may be seen
that the broad lateral surface of the platform constitutes a
cantilevered arm of considerable length, extending outwardly
from and normally to the longitudinal axis of the pivot rod
carrying the bait tray in pivotal relationship to the base.
A specific preferred embodiment of the invention is
illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the embodiment;
FIGURE 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of
the device of Fig. 1, the trap being in its set position;
FIGURE 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but with the
trap in its released, striking position;
FIGURE 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but with the
bait receiptacle at a differently adjusted location.
The trap according to the invention comprises a
generally rectangular base 10, to the upper surface of which
the various operative parts of the trap are mounted. Thus,
near one end, there is mounted a trigger member 12 in the
form of a generally S-shaped wire, having an intermediate
curved-horizontal portion 14. The trigger member 12 is
pivotally mounted to the base 10 by means of a pivot rod 16
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extending between a pair of upstanding end brackets 18 and
through a lower aperture in the trigger member 12.
Near the centre of the base 10 there are provided a
pair of central brackets 20 through which passes pivotally a
centre pivot rod 22. A generally U-shaped striker wire ~24 is
provided, the legs 26, 28 of which are bent rearwardly to
provide pivot mounting formations embracing the centre pivot
rod 22. A coil spring 30 surrounds the centre pivot rod 22,
one end of which 32 bears against the upper surface of the
base 10, and the other end of which bears against the leg 28
of the striker wire 24, so as to spring urge the striker wire
24 to the striking position shown in FIG. 1. The base of the
striker wire 24 comprises two joined parallel base members
34, 36, enlarging the striking area of the striker wire 24.
Either or both of the base members 34, 36 thereof may be
plastlc coated. A perpe~dlcular extension 37 protrudes from
base member 36, to facilitate lifting of the striker wire.
A platform 38 is provided, pivotally mounted on the
base 10 by means of depending brackets 40 secured to the
platform 38, and a pivot rod 42 extending transversely across
the base 10 between mounting blocks 44. The platform 38 is
elongated and arranged in cantilever fashion above the coil
spring 30 and within the U-shape of the striker wire 24. At
its end adjacent to the ~rigger member 12, the. platform 38 is
connected thereto by a link 46 received in the upper part of
the trigger mem~er 12. Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, when the
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platform 38 is depressed to pivot downwardly, in a clockwise
direction about pivot rod 42, link 46 operates to pull trigger
member 12 to the right, as sh~wn in the drawings.
A bait receptacle in the form of a wire mesh ~ait pan
48 is located above the top surface of the platform 38. When
the platform 38 is raised from its position shown in FIG. 1 to
its position shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface of the plat-
form 38 bears against the lower surface of the ~ait pan 48. As
shown, the bait pan 48 has side pieces 50 and a rear piece 52,
so that access to bait received in the bait pan 48 is available
only from one side, along the length of the lever 38. The ~ait
pan 48 is slidably mounted on a pair of upstanding U-shaped
rails 54, protruding upwardly from the top surface of the base
10. Thus the bait pan 48 can be moved forwardly and rear-
wardly with respect to the trigger member 12, along the rails
54. By so doing, the vertical position of the platform 38 is
varied, when the trap is in its set position with the platform
raised, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, with different portions of
the upper surface of the platform 38 coming into engagement
with the underside of the bait pan 48, thus to vary its ~erti-
cal disposition, and thus to change the angular position of
the trigger member 12.
A cage or hood 56 is provided, of wire mesh form to
overlie the top of the bait pan 48 and prevent top access
thereto. The wire hood 56 is pivotally mounted on angle rods
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58 extending upwardly from the top surface of the base 10 and
pivotally received at their ends in depending hook formations
60 at one end of the hood 56. At its forward end, the wire
hood 56 has depending spring legs 62, which will engage inside
rails 54 when the wire hood 56 is pivoted to its downward
location. When in its down location, the hood 56 embraces and
covers the bait pan ~8, preventing top access thereto, but
allowing access from one end, along the platform 34, through
the length of the hood 56.
The operation of the trap will now he clear, from the
above description. To set the trap, the striker wire 24 is
moved from its position shown in FIG. 1, pivoting about centre
pivot rod 22 against the urging of spring 30 to be located
under trigger member 12, with the base member 34 of the ~-
shaped striker rod engaging against intermediate portion
surface 14. For this to happen, the platform 38 is raised,
to a position limited by the adjusted position o~ the bait
pan 48, so as to permit sufficient rearward movement of
trigger member 12 to engage the base 34 of the striker wire
24. The hood 56 may be pivoted to open access to the top of
the bait pan 48, for loading of bait therein, and the hood may
then be replaced to prevent such top access, with the spring
legs 62 engaged inside rails 54. A small animal cannot there-
fore remove the hood to gain access to the bait from the top
of the pan, whilst at the same time loading of the trap with
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bait can be accomplished in the set position without substan-
tial risk of triggering the trap. In order to obtain the bait,
an animal is obliged to approach the bait pan 48 through the
length of the hood 56, and thereby step upon the end of the
platform 38, to trigger the trap whilst the animal is in the
lethal blow striking position. As downward force is applied
to the end of the~platform 38, as shown in FIG. 2, causing it
to rotate in the clockwise direction, trigger member 12 is
pulled to the right by means of link 46, so that eventually
base member 34 of striker wire 24 comes out of engagement with
intermediate surface portion 14 of the trigger member 12, and
the striker wire is forced to the position shown in FIG. 1
and FIG. 3, by the coil spring 30.
Adjustment of the sensitivity of the trap is accomplished
by manual arrangement of the engagement of the base member 34
of the striker wire 24 at the appropriate position on inter-
mediate portion surface 14 of the trigger. The form of link
46 permits a degree of lost motion between the platform and
the trigger, so as to set the ~rap in a more sensitive opera-
ting position. Similarly, the trap is set for operation byanimals of different weights, by adjustment of the bait pan
48 along the rails 54 to vary the vertical position of the
platform 38, and thereby vary the set position of the trigger
member 12 with respect to the striker wire base 34.
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An advantage of the present invention is an animal
trap which permits variable amounts of tripping forces to
operate the release mechanism of the trap, thereby accommodating
to animals of different weights and sizes.
Another advantage of the present inventiGn is a
shrouded bait area tending to force the animal to approach
such shrouded bait containing area in a preferred direction,
tending to place the animal in a position so as to be struck
by the striker wire when released.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is an
animal trap which may be safely loaded and unloaded with
great ease.
A further advantage of the present invention is an
animal trap which may be conveniently and easily cleaned
after use.
Another advantage of the present invention is an
animal trap having a broadened area with which to strike the
animal after the trap has been released by such animal
attempting to reach the baited portion thereof.
Still another advantage of the present invention is
an inexpensivel~ fabricated, durabl~ constructed and reliable
animal trap useful in trapping animals of various sizes.
Thus, there is disclosed in the above description and
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in the drawings, an embodiment of the invention which
accomplishes the objects thereof. However, it will become
apparent to those skilled in the art, how to make variations
and modifications to the instant invention. Therefore this
invention is to be limited, not by the specific disclosure
herein, but only by the appending claims.
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